Why Dont you take that arrow and shove it up your
by Pandagirl479
Summary: In a zombie apocolypse survival is a must, or risk becoming part of the living dead. This was not what I planned in life. I also didnt expect to fall for an antisocial jerk. But hey when Its the end of the world there are no more plans. Its survive or die
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the walking dead or the characters only the OC's I make!

Here's chapter one, Review please they help me continue!

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I couldn t believe this was actually happening, who would ever thought the dead would rise again and start attacking. I stared at the corpse in front of me, It was a boy...probably around the age of 6, His short blond hair covered in blood and dirt, he wore a white tank top that was ripped and covered in blood. His blue jeans torn and covered in dirt along with his blue sneakers. In his arms was a little white stuffed bunny. _'His best friend even in death'_ I shook my head and stared at the bite mark on his upper arm. Taking out my hunting knife on my waist, I looked once more into the boys lifeless grey eyes and without hesitation drove the knife into the head. Removing the knife I wiped the blood off of it '_it had to be done'_ I told myself when I felt my emotions trying to surface, mainly remorse. Looking around I saw my platoon staring back or what was left of them, the two males stared back waiting for command. Aiden Rain had spiked brown hair and brown eyes he was wearing the standard army uniform which was cameo pants a green tank top and black combat boots. He was nicknamed Sniper due to his deadly accuracy. Seth Fray Had Black spiked hair and ice blue eyes, He was more of the strategist then the fighter but will not hesitate to kill if need be. He was nicknamed Speed due to his quick thinking which saved us on numerous occasions. I was glade they survived, of my whole group these were the ones I would want to back me up, and they were my closest friends. "Are You the only survivors?" I asked though already knowing the answer, Speed nodded "yes Ma'am, one of the new recruits encountered a walker and fired the sound brought more and before we knew it we were cornered, we fought our hardest but only Sniper and I escaped alive" I nodded my head "I see, let us continue then" I turned and looked at the bodies one last time. It was now time to move on and find and help survivors.

We were walking towards our camp when all of a sudden we heard a car Alarm blaring. I looked down a road and saw a red car and a moving van coming down the road when they past us I looked at Sniper and Speed "lets follow them, maybe there are others" they nodded and we took off running towards our camp, I grabbed my backpack and mounted my motorcycle. It was a beautiful black Kawasaki Ninja ZX-11 I found it on the side of the road when I was being chased by walkers. I put on the black helmet and saw Speed and Sniper get in the army jeep, with a rev of the engine I took off them following right behind me. We followed where the car and van went following the sound of the alarm, when we got close enough. When We reached a small campsite the people looked at us warily, a few men came forward with guns. I slowly turned off my motorcycle and got off taking off my helmet. Sniper and speed got out of the jeep keeping their eyes on the men who aimed their guns at us. I smiled at the group and put my hands up "relax we mean no harm and we are not infected" one guy lowered his gun and stepped forward he wore a police uniform "who are you guys? and What do you want?" I lowered my hands "I am lieutenant Erika Cole and these two men are all thats left of my Platoon This Is Aiden Rain also known as Sniper And Seth Fray also known as Speed. We came in search for other survivors" (im skipping introductions lol to long) Rick nodded his head "well your welcomed to stay as long as you like" I smiled gratefully "Thank you Rick" we then gathered our stuff and walked over to join in the conversation.

Later that night we sat around the fire listening to Rick explain what happened when he woke up in the hospital. I looked at him in sympathy as I took out one of my hunting knives and started sharpening it. Rick paused then continued his story "for a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream something I might not wake up from ever" I stopped sharpening when I heard the next words that came from his young boys mouth "Mom said you died" I looked at them and saw sadness and shame in their faces, Rick's for not being their for his family and Lori for giving up on her husband. I sighed and zoned out for the rest of the conversation. Its hard for a kid to lose a parent, he should never have to go through it. Then my head snapped up as I heard Shane say to Ed "keep our fires low, just embers, so we cant be seen from a distance right?" Ed scoffed "I said It s cold, you should mind your own business for once" I rolled my eyes_ 'asshole'_ I thought looking at Ed, then my eyes fell upon Carol and Sophia, they stayed quiet as to not anger the man that was currently talking to Shane. I frowned as I saw Sophia look over at the group wanting to join in. The look quickly went away when shane asked how they were. When he got back over here we got on the topic of this man Daryl Dixon _ 'Dixon? .Dixon? where the hell have I heard that name before'_ I thought to my self not hearing any of the rest of the conversation other then He wont be happy when he heard his brother was left behind. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder I looked and saw sniper looking at me worried, the same looking mirroring Speed. "you ok Erika?" sniper asked I sighed running a hand through my shoulder length Auburn Red hair _'yeah its just been a long day, we lost a lot of people Its been rough'_ they nodded as sniper pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged back instantly then moved to hug Speed. When I pulled away I looked at my friends and smiled "let us go to bed we got a lot to do tomorrow, we must make sure we pull our own weight around here" they nodded and said goodnight. When They left I looked at the moon I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.

The next morning I woke up at 5 the sun was starting to rise. I changed into training shorts, a black tank top and my black sneakers. I left my tent and saw I was the first one up besides shane who was on look out 'perfect no distractions' I did quite a few stretches making sure I don t hurt my self and went to do my exercises. I usually start with a mile run but being that it s the forest I doubt that it s a good idea, so I did 99 push ups, 135 crunches and 115 sit ups (it IS possible for people to do this) Then I grabbed my backpack and filled it up so it weighed a good 50 pounds and strapped it to my back tightly, I looked around and found a tall sturdy tree and started to climb, it was about a half hour when I reached the top. I took a deep breath and started my climb down. When I got to the bottom everyone was staring at me. I was breathing heavily "what? What's wrong" Lori was the first to snap out of it "uh nothing, what are you doing?" I took a deep breath "training, my morning training" I answered simply I understood their confusion "being apart of the Army I train hard everyday to stay in shape .When I was little my Older brother Ace Became a Navy Seal and though they don t accept women as Navy seals He trained me as one ever since I was 15 He was 25 at the time. Trained to Fight, To kill, and To Protect." I looked at them each one staring back with respect. Glenn stepped forward "here let me take your backpack for you, so you can get cleaned up" I smirk and nodded tossing my backpack at him He caught it but fell right on his ass from the weight. "AH HELP GET THIS OFF ME!" everyone started laughing at him as Sniper picked it up as if it was nothing. Glenn took a deep breath "thank you" I giggled and went into my tent to get washed up and changed into my uniform. I looked at everyone but something was missing 'where are the kids' I thought. Then I heard a scream 'oh no' and we took off where it came from.


	2. Chapter 2

As we ran my thoughts went wild _'God please let them be ok, don't make me have to take another child away'_ when we reached the area I saw Sophia and Carl run out. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw none of them were injured. I took out my knife as I walked slowly forward disgusted at what I saw. A walker chewing on the neck of a deer, _'nasty motherfucker'_ as we gathered around it the walker turned and growled at us obviously mad that we disturbed his breakfast and tried to attack, the group started to beat it. I stepped back letting them kick the crap out of the zombie. Then Dale took his axe and chopped the head off. "their running out of food in the city, that s what" Jim stated I frowned knowing he was right. I stared at the head then moved my gaze over to the deer. _'a horrible way to go, poor thing'_ we heard a twig snapped and raised our weapons when a man walked into our view carrying a heavy crossbow. The group sighed and lowered their weapons, I did to realizing he must be the other member of the group, Daryl. "Son of a bitch, That s My Deer!" he walked over to the deer "look at it all gnawed on by this Filthy disease-bearing motherless poxy bastard!" he exclaimed kicking the body with each word in aggravation. _'well he's charming'_ I thought rolling my eyes as He yelled at Dale for telling him to calm down. He walked backed over to the deer "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison." he started to pull the arrows out. "do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" he asked pointing at the neck.

I grimaced at the thought _'sure I will gladly eat something chewed on by a zombie who by the way was covered in infected blood'_ I kept my mouth shut though, it would be best not to anger the man anymore, and we still haven't told him bout his brother. _'Oh boy this is going to be fun'_ . Shane then spoke up "Man I would not risk that" Daryl sighed realizing he was right "that s a damn shame" then he went off saying he had some squirrels. Just then the head started moving and growling I heard the girls gasp but I ignored it "Come on people, what the hell?" He aimed his crossbow and shot the head "it s gotta be the brain, dont y'all know nothing?" He mocked before going off shouting for someone, most likely his brother.

Shane ran up to him and told him that there was a problem in Atlanta. "he dead?" Daryl asked almost afraid of the answer. were not sure That seem to annoy Daryl _'damn wish I had popcorn for this'_ I thought waiting for all hell to break lose "He either is or he ain't!" then Rick told him that he handcuffed his brother to the roof and his still their. "Hold on Daryl" said as he walked away and wiped his face "let me process this" and he turned around and started to advance on Rick his voice rising in sheer anger "your saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof, And you left him there?" I looked to my side and saw Speed about to step in to break it up but I put my arm out in front of him. He looked at me confused "Let them deal with it, this doesn t have anything to do with us, it s between them" He hesitated for a second then stepped back. Turning back towards the group I saw Daryl throw the squirrels at Rick then tried to charge at him when Shane shoved him to the ground. Daryl quickly took out a hunting knife and lunged again but Rick grabbed his arm giving Shane a chance to put Daryl in a choke hold and wrestle him to the ground. Rick quickly got the knife away from him "You best let me Go!" he screamed trying to get out of the tight hold "nah I think it's better If I don't" Shane replied calmly "choke Holds illegal" Shane didn t seem affected "you can file a complaint" I looked at Sniper and Speed seeing that they were on edge I turned around and saw that they let go of Daryl who was talking to T-dog about his brother, he then turned to Rick "Just tell me where he is so I can go get him?" Lori then spoke up "he'll show you, isn t that right?" I turned my attention to Rick who nodded and said he was going back. Then he walked off probably to get dressed. I heard Daryl say "hey, chose your words more carefully" Shane looked at him "No I did Douche Bags what I meant" I shook my head at them Lori then Said "so you and Daryl that s your big plan?"

He turned and looked at Glenn then Shane said "so your going to risk three men?" "four" we looked up and say T-dog Daryl scoffed "my day just keeps getting better and better don t it?" I took a deep breath "Five" I said the all looked at me. Shane was shocked "what?" I looked right at him "five, Im going to, they could use the back up" Daryl looked at me "who the Hell are you?" I looked over at him "lieutenant Erika Cole" He rolled his eyes "Great now we got a female coming with us? So what now were babysitting?" I ignored him as the group continued their conversation and walked over to Speed and Sniper, Sniper stepped up "Erika you cant go It s too risky" I looked at him my eyes fixed into a cold stare which caused him to flinch . "what did you say to me? Do you think I can t handle it? Think im some weak little girl that needs you to hold her hand, tuck her in and kiss her good night?" I advanced on him making him back up, Speed put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down. I grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. Sniper shook his head "that s not what I meant we just don t want anything to happen to you"

My eyes softened as I relaxed, i understood what they ment. They didnt want to lose another person. "nothing is going to happen Sniper I promise, ..until I return Your orders are to protect this group at all cost, .remember I Love you guys and I'm proud of you" They both smiled "we love you too Erika" they both replied and pulled me into a group hug. Then we heard a car horn "Come On Lets Go!" I Saw Daryl stepping on the horn I turned to Sniper and Speed, "Oh He's going to be a pleasant one to deal with" they laughed and I joined in. With one last look I turned and climbed into the van, Then I thought of something _'that s where I heard Dixon before'_ I let out a low growl "lets go and save the jackass" I said in annoyance Daryl looked at me angry "what you got something against my brother?" I stared back challengingly "I met the asshole once, I shot him in the foot"

I Must admit it was funny seeing Daryls face turn bright red. "I apologize for it, But your brother was high on something and went to attack me I said" but in my mind all I thought was _'yeah right I'd shoot that bastard in the foot again if I could'_ Daryl went to say something but turned away after he saw Rick and Glenn Climb in. It was Clear that Daryl was Pissed at me _'oh well he ll get over it, I acted in self defense'_ T-dog then spoke up "at least she is trying to make it right" Daryl scoffed "coming from the one who dropped the damn Key" T-dog said nothing so Daryl continued "He better be ok, That s my only word on the matter" He said wiping his face "I told you the geeks cant get to him, the only one s getting to him is us" Glenn parked the truck "we ll walk from here" we nodded and all got out of the truck, Then all of a sudden Glenn accidentally bumped into me causing me to fall into someone I look up and saw Daryl. "sorry" I muttered as I backed up He grunted and continue walking forward. _'This is going to be a long day'_ I thought shaking my head as we continued walking.

"Merle first or guns?" Rick asked Glenn "Merle first we aint having this conversation" I kept quiet through it "Yes we are" Rick shouted "Merle is Closer, the guns we would have to double back, Merle First" we nodded and headed off. We made it to the mall and slowly moved through, I saw only one zombie Daryl moved closer crossbow raised. "you are one ugly skank" the zombie growled I chuckled "I agree with you there Daryl" He said nothing and shot the zombie. After he retrieved his arrow we continued running up the stairs After T-dog cut the lock Daryl kicked open the door shouting for his brother, we quickly followed him. I saw Daryl pacing back and forth Shouting "No" I looked over and saw the bloody saw and cuffs and Merle s hand. I went over to Daryl and put a hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned around and aimed the crossbow at T-dogs face. I moved and stood right in front of T-dog so now the arrow was in my face. I kept my face emotionless as Rick pointed the gun at Daryls head "I wont hesitate. I don t care if every walker in the city hears it" Daryl didnt look like he was going to lower his weapon "If you want to shoot him you go through me first" I said calmly staring him straight in the eyes. He blinked and then put down the crossbow blinking his eyes to get rid of his tears. I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw T-dog "thanks" I nodded as Daryl turned to T-dog. "you uh got a do-rag or something?" he asked softly. He gave him a blue bandana and went over to the hand "I guess the blade was to dull for the handcuff" he said picking it up "Aint that A Bitch" he wrapped it up and put it in Glenn's Backpack and Glenn was freaking out. I looked at the blood_ 'This is going to be harder then I thought'_ I shook my head and look at the group. After a little talk we decided to keep searching.


	3. Chapter 3

I started walking behind Daryl, who was leading the group down the stairs. When we reached a room we saw a walker Daryl quickly shot it with an arrow. Walking forward I saw two walkers laying on the floor with their heads smashed in. "Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches, one handed" Daryl grunted loading his crossbow. I couldn t help but stare as I saw His muscles flex, but I quickly turned away when I realized what I was doing. _'what the hell is wrong with me'_ I thought to myself, I was sure that I would be blushing if the situation wasn't so serious. "toughest asshole I met my brother, ..feed him a hammer, he d crap out nails" I looked at the walkers and I must admit I was impressed. "any man could pass out from blood loss No matter how tough he is" Rick said, I walked forward now leading the group. I looked around the corner, tightening my hold on my hunting knife. I jumped when I heard Daryl Shout from right behind me. "MERLE!" I turned and glared at him, He smirked obviously pleased that he was able to scare the shit out of me. damn bastard! Rick quickly shushed him "were not alone...remember?" He scoffed "screw that he could be bleeding out, you said so yourself" I rolled my eyes and continued forward, It was true though we had a man that could be dying somewhere we needed to help him, even though he is an ass. I frowned as the scent of burn flesh hit me. I saw the stove on and a belt on the stove. ew gross.. Rick went over and picked something up. Glenn hesitantly asked "what's that burnt stuff?" I know what it is, i've seen this be done before "Skin, he cauterized the stump" Rick said not believing it at first. Daryl Looked over at Rick "told you he was tough, nobody can kill Merle but Merle" I scoffed "except blood loss" I said causing Daryl to look at me. what yeah its mean but it's the truth! He looked away and walked over to the broken window "yeah didn t stop him from busting out of this death trap" I walked over and looked out the window seeing glass and a bloody cloth. ah crap that makes everything more difficult, Glenn was shocked "He left the building? Why the Hell would He do that?" I rolled my eyes at the question "its either leave or stay and rot" I said to Glenn, Daryl looked over at me then looked out of the window. "why wouldn t he? He's out there alone far as he knows, doing what he s got to do, surviving" I sighed and leaned against the wall.

T-Dog looked at him like he's a madman "you call that surviving, just wandering the streets maybe passing out, what are his odds?" I winced as I saw Daryl getting mad _'bad question!'_ I frowned. Daryl turned to him glaring "no worse then being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks" I saw Glenn and T-Dog look down shamefully. I put my hand on Daryl's shoulder trying to calm him down. Causing him to look at me then shrug my hand off, He turned to Rick "do what you want, I'm Going to go get him" he went to walk away and Rick put his hand on him trying to stop him"'Get your hands off of me! You can't stop me" Daryl shouted shoving Rick away. I look down at my knife twirling it and flipping it in my hand. A habit I've had since I was little. I looked over and saw T-Dog and Glenn watching me warily. I smirked and stopped playing with the knife. I kicked off the wall getting annoyed now "look we are going to look for him but we need the guns first. And I am getting sick and tired of waiting around, While you guys are arguing like little kids. Arguing is only wasting time" I said as everyone to look at me. I looked at every single one of them "deal?" T-Dog spoke up "she's right we need those guns first. Im not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions ok?" everyone nodded except Daryl, I understand his lack of trust of the group but distance right now will kill you "Its either you agree or we waste more time arguing while your brother is out there alone" I said walking over to him sheathing my knife . He looked at me unsure but then nodded. I smiled and we started to work out a plan.

"Your not doing this alone" Rick said Looking at Glenn after hearing his plan. Daryl looked at the drawing on the floor "Even I think it s a bad Idea and I don t even Like you much" I smirked at Daryl "but enough to care" He looked and me and Scoffed looking away, I turned to Glenn '"Its actually not too bad of an idea" Glenn smiled and then looked at Rick "it's a good idea, if you just hear Me out" He began to explain how he was going to grab the guns by himself and have Me and Daryl wait in the alley where he exits. "Why Me?" Daryl asked "your crossbow is quieter than his gun, And Erika I saw how you handle the knife, so your back up" I nodded as he continued "I grab the bag and run back into the alley" Rick looked at Glenn and asked "you have us elsewhere?" He nodded and pointed to the map "you and T-Dog right here" Rick was confused "two blocks away? Why?" Glenn frowned "I might not be able to go back the way I came, walkers might cut me off" I nodded listening closely _'this might actually work especially since he has a back up plan'_ Daryl then asked "Hey, Kid, what'd you do before all this?" I couldn t help but wonder the same thing "delivered pizza s, why?" he just shrugged surprised. After a quick recap we split up I took out my hunting knife and flipped it twice out of excitement. "you got some balls for a chinaman" Daryl said aiming his crossbow I giggled at the annoyed look on Glenn's face "I'm Korean" He said looking at Daryl then getting ready to run "whatever" Daryl muttered I smirked "you'll be fine Glenn" He smiled and nodded then took off as we took cover behind the dumpster.

Daryl frowned at me "you give him to much hope" I smiled looking at him then looking where Glenn took off "But if you don't have any hope, what s the point of living?, besides he's still young let him have hope" He grunted and looked away. All of a sudden we heard footsteps Daryl growled stepped out and aimed his weapon. It was a boy, "whoa don't shoot me! What do you want he asked". I stood behind Daryl "information" I stated "I'm looking for my brother, He's hurt real bad, you seen him?" Daryl asked. The boy backed away and shouted "Ayudame!" I growled in frustration "Daryl Shut Him up! We don need attention" Daryl growled walking closer to him "shut up your going to bring the geeks down on us!, answer me!" the boy just kept shouting for help. Then all of a sudden I heard footsteps and turned around just in time to get hit in the side with a bat. The blow knocked the wind out of me and caused me to hit my head on the side of the Dumpster. _'Damn that hurt!'_ I thought getting up, now having a major headache. I looked over and saw the guys beating up Daryl. I ran over and grabbed the one hitting him with the bat and threw him off, then kicked the other man in the side knocking him to the ground. The guy with the bat came and charged at me and I roundhouse kicked him to the ground.

Just at that moment Glenn ran into the alley and froze, I looked at him which gave the guy enough time to get up and whack me in the back with the bat _'son of a bitch'_. "that's the bag vato grab it" one yelled pointing at the bag Glenn had. I looked up and saw the two guys grab Glenn and the bag. I tried to get up but my body wouldnt move, I heard someone yell and saw one of the guys had an arrow in his ass causing him to drop the guns. I looked over at Daryl who ran after them after Glenn shouted at us to help him. When the guy dropped the bag the other one grabbed Glenn and shoved him into a car. I Managed to get up slowly, which by the way was VERY painful. I saw Daryl shouting for the guys to come back but had to close the gate because of the walkers. Then He turned and charged at the boy who was left behind, Unfortunately I was to far away to stop him. Thankfully Rick stopped him just in time. Pushing him back "Im going to kick your nuts up in your throat!" He screamed. Rick held him back "chill out" But Daryl wouldn't hear of it "They took Glenn, That little bastard and his little bastard Homie friends, Im Gonna Stomp Your Ass!" He yelled trying to reach him. That's when T-Dog Yelled "Guys were cut off" I looked around and saw he was right. "Get to the lab GO!" He yelled we nodded and took off. It took everything in my not to limp and cry out in pain. When we got to the lab we shoved the boy into the seat.

I put my hair into a high ponytail. "Erika, what happened?" Rick asked shocked, I looked at him confused "What?" He pointed to my head "Your bleeding, badly there's a huge gash on the side of your head" By this time everyone was looking at me. I reached up and touched my head wincing at the contact, pulling my hand away I saw a lot of blood. Damn i forgot about that "when the guys came into the alley, He took me by surprised and hit me in the side with the metal bat, I fell and hit my head on the side of the dumpster" I reached into my pocket and pulled out gauze pads and a gauze role _'thank God I come Prepared'_ I thought. I tried reached up to put pressure on the wound but got a sharp pain in my back causing me to flinch, I put the stuff on the table and grabbed the edge to brace my self. _'God damn Monkey Balls' _Rick stepped forward "what happened to your back?" I frowned "the bastard hit me in the back with the bat". He stepped forward "let me see" No he wasn't being a pervert he just cared. I shook my head stepping back. All of a sudden I felt two strong arms grab me and spin me around lifting up the back of my shirt, I blushed noticing it was Daryl who grabbed me but thankfully he didnt pay attention to my face. I heard the guys wince, even the boy in the chair "Damn he must of got you good you back is bruised" T-Dog muttered. I rolled my eyes _'No Shit Sherlock'_ I thought as Daryl let me go. I went to reach for the supplies but somebody grabbed them. I looked and saw Daryl, he didnt say anything as he started to bandaged my head. I muttered a quiet thank you as he grunted and turned to the boy.

Rick turned to the boy "those men you were with, we need you to tell us where they went" The boy scoffed and tried to act all tough"I aint telling you nothing" T-Dog sighed and Asked what happened. Daryl told him and I just glared at the boy. The boy scoffed again "You were the one who jumped me, Puto, screaming about tryin to find his brother like its my damn fault" Daryl started pacing losing his temper fast "Merle? What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn t name my Dog Merle" the boy said, I frowned as Daryl went to kick the boy Rick stopping him yet again "Damn it Daryl back off" he said pushing Him away. I rolled my eyes when I saw Daryl threaten him with merles hand. I walked over and sat on the unoccupied desk taking out my knife and flipping it again as I watched the scene. "Damn it would you put that damn thing away, your making me nervous" T-Dog said watching the knife. The boy chuckled getting his tough guy attitude back "why would you be afraid of her? She Probably doesn't know how to use it". I smirked evilly as I threw the knife, Lodging it into the wall just inches away from his head. He paled as I looked at him "still think I don't know how to use it?,next time I'll aim for your head" I said darkly. Daryl smirked and Rick sighed "Erika that s enough, we want a calm discussion, not more threats" I growled "this boy needs to be put in his place Rick" He looked at me and I rolled my eyes. Rick turned Back to the boy "Look The men you were with took our friend, we just want to talk to them see if we can work something out". the boy looked slightly afraid but agreed.

"One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass, just so you know" Daryl said looking at the boy. He looked at Daryl and smirked "G's gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know". Rick looked at him "G?" the boy looked over "Guillermo. He's the man here." Rick nodded "ok then Lets go see Guillermo" we followed him closely. As we reached the door. This man walked out, He looked at the boy. "you ok, little man?" at this point the boy dropped the tough guy act "They're gonna cut off my feet, carnal". The leader looked at Rick "cops do that?" The boy shook his head "not him This redneck puto Here, He cut off some dude s hand man, he showed it to me, and then his girlfriend threw a knife at me, said next time she would aim for my head" I growled ignoring the girlfriend comment as Daryl and I yelled "Shut Up" the two men from before came out yelling. Guillermo put his hand up "chill, ese chill" then He turned back to Rick "this true? He wants miguelito's feet? Thats pretty sick man" Rick looked at us then back to him "we were hopping for more of a calm discussion". I glared at the man as the conversation went on. I saw The leader look where T-Dog was stationed aiming a gun at his head. I frowned when I saw two men on the roof threatening to push Glenn over the edge. We turned back to come up with a plan _'what are we going to do?'_


	4. Chapter 4

I stared at Rick as he put the bag on the table and started shifting through the guns. My head and back Hurt like hell but I was able to ignore the pain and act like I was fine, but I knew It would hurt even more tomorrow, Im not going to be a burden. T-Dog was standing against the wall with Miguel sitting on the floor next to him, Daryl was pacing back and forth watching Rick. "Them guns are worth more then Gold. Gold wont Protect your family, or put food on the table. You willing to give that up for that kid?" I looked at Daryl unsure of the situation, In my heart I knew I wanted to rescue Glenn but my mind was thinking logically, _'If we go in Locked and Loaded, There is going to be a blood bath and we may lose people. plus there is no guarantee they will hold to their part of the deal of everybody walks'_ T-Dog then spoke up, voicing my concern. "If I knew we'd get Glen Back I might agree. But you think that Vato across the way is just going to hand him over?" Miguel looked at him in disgust "you calling G a Liar?" Daryl turned to him "Are you part of this? You want to hold onto your teeth?" as he smacked him upside the head. T-Dog turned to him "question is, Do you trust the mans word?" Daryl spoke before Rick could answer "no question is what are you willing to bet on it, could be more then them guns, could be your life Glenn worth that to you?" He asked though probably already knowing the answer Rick put a pistol in his holster "what life I have I owe to him, I was a nobody, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could've walked away but he didn't. Neither will I" Daryl looked at the guns "so your gonna hand the guns over" Rick looked at him and smirked "I didn t say that" Daryl looked at him with interest and respect "there is nothing keeping you guys here you should get out and head back to camp" I looked at him in shock _'He's insane if he s going alone...no he's a fucking moron'_ T-Dog rubbed his head "and tell your family what?" Rick looked at him then looked at Daryl who stared back for a moment then nodded and grabbed a shotgun.

Miguel stood up "come on, This is nuts" Daryl pointed at him lightly shoving him back silently telling him to sit the fuck down. He did and put his head in his hands then looked up, afraid "Just do as G says" they ignored him loading up. Finally the kid was acting his age, just a scared boy. I looked at the floor frowning debating on what I should do. They all turned to look at me. "Erika" Rick called softly causing me to look up. "you don t have to stay, you ve done so much already for us, go back and take a care of your injuries" I look at T-Dog looked back in understanding and gratitude, I looked back at Rick Who eyes showed concern probably for my injury, lastly I turned to Daryl for some reason his opinion mattered most to me, He looked me in the eye then softly nodded his head. I looked down and bit my lip and closed my eyes clenching my fist. _'NO I am Not leaving someone else behind, I refused to sit back and run like some weak, scared little girl'_ I growled aggravated and pushed off the wall I was leaning on. I took off my army jacket revealing a gun holster on my waist and a gun on my hip. And having a large hunting knife strapped to my upper arm.

The guys stared at me shocked "What?" T-Dog was the one to speak up "your telling me you carried those the whole time and didn t tell us!" I smirked "you think all I carry around is one knife?. If im going into a Zombie death trap I m preparing myself" I took the one gun out of the holster and put them on the table, then removed the one on my hip. "there that gives you 2 more hand guns. Its not a lot but it will have to do, Sniper and speed both gave me the two before we left, I have 3 knives total. It wont get far but at least you wont be defenseless if the guns run out or you drop them". Rick looked shocked but nodded Daryl stared at me confused "I only see 2 knives" I reached down and pulled up my pant leg where I had a knife securely strapped my leg. I looked back at Daryl who looked impressed, while Miguel looked in fear. I smirked at him as I grabbed the knife. "thank you Erika..but I have to ask a question?" I nodded, as Rick stared back right into my eyes "you carry so much weapons its hard to believe that your new at the whole survival thing, tell me what caused you to be this way?" I looked out the window watching the walkers stumble in the streets. i knew there was a cold glare on my face, It was because if those bastards my life went to shit "I couldn t save her. We ran out of weapons, we were cornered and out of food, we couldn t run anymore, They took her away from me and I couldn t save Her, I am not letting someone else be taken away from me, If I have something to do about it" I looked at Rick as He nodded slightly and asking no more on the topic, to my relief.

I took one of the shot guns off the table. And looked at Miguel who looked back in slight fear "If This guy Keep his word and things work out well I will make sure no harm comes to you, But-" I walked over and kneeled in front of him glaring into his eyes "If He tries to double cross us and any harm comes to my friend, I will not hesitate to kill you I am trained to save, protect, and Kill if need be Got it?" He gulped and nodded I smiled and patted his head. I stood up and felt a hand on my shoulder, I looked over and saw Daryl "its time to go". I nodded walking toward the door frowning _'I hate threatening people but I cant let it seem like were push overs'_ when we got to the place The doors opened and Daryl shoved Miguel inside. Guillermo walked forward frowning as he saw us armed. "I see my guns but their not all In the bag" Rick stared at him "that s because there not your s I thought I mentioned that" I smirked as one guy said to just shoot us. "I don t think you fully appreciate The gravity of the situation" Rick lowered the gun "no I think I m pretty clear" he took out a knife and cut Miguel s restraints pushing him forward. "you have your man, I want mine" Guillermo frowned not liking the fact that someone was making a deal with HIM. "I m gonna chop up your boy. Im gonna feed him to my dogs, Their the evilest, Nastiest, man-eating bitches you ever saw, I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale" I chuckled well just to let you know I m Satans Personal Dog-trainer it s a pleasure to meet you...nah im just kidding but I dont remember selling any dogs to you" I saw Daryl smirk at my comment as Guillermo looked even more pissed." I told you how it was to be, are you woefully deaf" Rick looked at Him "no my hearing is just fine, you said come locked and loaded well" we all cocked our guns. "well then were here" all of a sudden an Old Lady came into the room "Felipe! Felipe!" without looking back The man, Filipe, yelled back "Abuela Go back with the others Now!" Daryl Looked at her and shouted "Get that old lady out of the Line of Fire!" Guillermo looked at her "Abuela listen to your M'hijo ok? This is not the place for you right now" She went over to Filipe, "Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing, He needs his Asthma stuff, Carlito didn t find it, He needs his medicine" I frowned confused by the situation. what the hell is going on?

Rick started to lower his gun as Guillermo looked from us to the old lady then back at us Filipe "Go take care of it, ok? And take your grandmother with you!" I tensed as the old woman came over to Rick directly in the line of fire "Don t you take him, Filipe is a good boy He have his troubles but he pull himself together, We need him here" I sighed and lowered my gun all the way _'either This old lady has no idea what her grandson does or Their lying sack of shits'_ I heard Rick tell the old lady they were helping us find a missing person. "The Asian boy? He s with Mr. Gilbert, come, come I show you, He needs his medicine" she went over and grabbed Rick s hand I smiled at how cute she was as we followed her Guillermo allowing us to pass. I followed walking next to Daryl looking in the rooms that we pass seeing sick elders. We continued down the long hallway into a large auditorium, there I saw a group circled around an old man he must be Mr. Gilbert Filipe walked over and helped him take his medication, I looked over and saw Glenn standing among the group I let out a sigh of relief seeing he was unharmed. Rick looked at him like he had six heads "what the hell is this?" Glenn looked at him "An Asthma attack, couldn t catch his breath all of a sudden" T-Dog looked at him annoyed "I though you were being eaten by dogs, man" Glenn looked over and we followed his gaze to Three Chihuahua s. I giggled at the sight, causing Daryl to look at me and smirk. "still up to training Satan s dogs?" I shook my head "nah I don t like little dogs, they remind me of rats" He chuckled and looked back towards the group as Rick said Guillermo that he was insane and start talking to him. I shook my head and turned to walk away, when I took a step The room started to spin and my head started to pound. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked to see T-Dog looking concerned "You ok Erika" I nodded but groaned at the pain and nausea. "No you aint, what s wrong?" T-Dog asked even more worried. Thankfully the group didn t noticed my pause, I looked at T-Dog, no longer nauseous, "I m fine its just my head, please don t tell the others please I don t want to be a burden" He looked unsure for a moment but then sighed and nodded "fine but if it gets worse Im telling them" I smiled "thanks T-Dog" He just waved me off.

I started to walk down the hall into the back yard enjoying the sun. All of a sudden I heard footsteps, I looked up and saw Miguel standing a little away from me. I smiled at him "hey kiddo" He looked at the ground nervously. I laughed softly and motioned for him to come over "Relax hun, Im not going to threaten you, I think were passed that part anyway" He chuckled "yeah I guess we are" He walked over and sat next to me on the step. "so what s going on? you look like you wanted to ask something". he rubbed the back of his neck "heh yeah back in the lab you stood away from the group, almost like you didn t like them, yet in the alley You protected that Redneck-" I cut him off "Daryl" He nodded "you protected him without hesitation, getting hurt yourself in the process, and when your friend was grabbed you didn t want to go back without him .why? Why protect them If you don t really know them?" I looked at the sky thinking about what he was asking 'why do I protect them, I don t owe them anything, It s almost like I have to' I paused for a second "I guess its because I consider them my friends. Just like these guys are to you. You would do anything for them right?" He nodded "of course, but what about Daryl what s he to you, you seem Drawn to him the most?" that made me stop it was true out of all the group I always was near Daryl even though he was such an asshole. _'do I consider him a friend?'_ I smiled as I stared at the sky "I don t know, I guess Its just that I consider him a friend even if The feeling isnt mutual" He nodded accepting the answer as He stood up "it was nice talking to you Erika" he said surprisingly with no attitude I smiled "same to you kid, Take care" he started walking away but froze and turned back around "I just have one more question" I nodded waiting for him to continue "who was it that you couldn t save?" I stood up watching him yet imagining someone else standing in his place, "My daughter, I couldn t save my daughter" He looked at me and nodded as he turned and walked away leaving me there in my thoughts.

I sighed and turned to walk back inside and walked into the room the guys were in. Guillermo was saying how they were all these old folks have left. Rick made a decision and gave them some of the guns and ammo. _'At least they have protection, for as much time as they have left'_ We said our goodbyes and left. Glenn turned to Rick as we were walking "admit it you just came back for the hat" Rick smiled "Dont tell anyone" I couldn t help but laugh, It was as if zombies weren t around waiting to devour our flesh, yes that s a nice way to put it. Then Daryl had to be a stick in the mud and ruin the peaceful moment. "You ve given away half of our guns and ammo" Rick glanced at him then looked back ahead "not nearly half" I sighed here we go again "for what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die of momentarily anyhow? Seriously how long do you think they got?" I looked back where we came from "How long do any of us?" Rick asked all of a sudden we all stopped in surprise, our van was gone. "where the hell s our van?" Daryl asked, Glenn Had his mouth wide open "we left it right there who would take it?" Rick answered without hesitation "Merle" Daryl looked at Rick with what looked to be guilt "he s gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp" I groaned and kicked a rock in frustration "just great we come to rescue him only finding his severed hand, and go out to look for him get the crap beat out of us and one of us gets taken, we go in ready to kill anyone and find out the people where only protecting elders we leave some guns and ammo to go to our van only to find out he stole our Van and now he s going to go attack the camp! Shit can this day get any worse" I said, my head felt like it was going to fucking explode and my back was on fire. "Erika Calm down your going to make your injuries worse" Rick said turning to me "what are we going to do Rick? It will take us till night fall to get back to camp" I said nervous at this point. "we gotta go now, Come on" We took off afraid of what we were going to encounter.

_'OK coming back to camp to a zombie attack is defiantly worse, damn me and my fucking big mouth'_ I though shooting a zombie in the head, I ran forward looking for Sniper and speed, shooting any walker I saw, I heard Rick desperately calling for Lori and Carl. I heard growling from behind I turned around and saw a zombie about to attack I quickly used the butt of my gun and knocked it back then shot it in the face. I looked around and saw all the other walkers dead, like they were supposed to be. I looked around frantically calling out "Aiden! Seth!" I got no response. My heart was filled with fear, "AIDEN! SETH!" I cried out near tears. I held the gun Tighter in my hands as I looked around. "ERIKA!" I turned and saw Aiden and Seth standing by the RV. I gasped and hugged them not letting go crying into their shirts. "I remember my dream now, why I dug those holes" Jim said , I turned and looked around at the bodies that covered the ground. I then looked at the group Rick held Carl and Lori tight as they cried, Andrea was crying over Amy s dead body, Morales held his family, as Carol Held Sophia crying, Glenn looked around afraid, Daryl was on guard as was Shane, T-Dog looked around not wanting to believe what just happened. Jacqui and Dale stared at Andrea in sadness, and Jim just stared Horrified that his dream came true.

I got no sleep that night, neither did anyone else. The sun was up Shane and Rick were digging graves, Daryl was driving a pickaxe through the bodies heads so they didn t turn. I raised my Hunting knife and drove it into one of the head of one of the bodies. Standing up I wiped the blood off it nodding to Aiden and Seth. They nodded and took the body over to be buried, I couldn t lift anything because of my back, But like hell I was going to be the weak link. I turned when I saw Rick walking towards Andrea which resulted in her pulling a pistol on him, He backed away slowly apologizing. Daryl walked over shouldering the pickaxe, "y'all can t be serious, let that girl hamstring us? The dead girls a time bomb" he said motioning towards Amy and Andrea I walked over crossing my arms. "and what do you suggest?" Rick asked unsure of the answer himself. Daryl walked closer "take the shot, clean in the brain from here, Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance" I shook my head _'well thank God she s not a turkey'_ Lori looked at the ground "No For God s Sakes, let her be" Daryl scoffed and walked away, as He past me I said to Him "she knows what has to be done" He didn t answer and just continued walking. And went over to help Morales move a body, Glenn asked in panic "whoa what are you doing?, our people go over there, this is for geeks" Daryl grunted "what s the difference they re all infected". Daryl stopped and dropped the body staring as Glenn walked closer "our people go in that row over there, WE DON T BURN THEM!, we bury them" he said softly. "understand?" He said challenging Daryl, who looked at him then moved the body over in the other row "you reap what you sow" he said Morales looked at him "you know what?, shut up, man!" which caused Daryl to drop the body. "Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming!" He screamed storming off. I ran my hand through my hair as Aiden and Seth watched worried. "let him be, He s just blowing off some steam" They looked at me then nodded. Then I heard Jacqui shout "A walker got him, A walker bit Jim" I looked over and saw Jim looking at everyone afraid trying to convince everyone he s ok. Daryl walked over "Show it to us" Jim backed away grabbing a shovel Daryl told T-Dog to grab him, which he did as Daryl lifted up his shirt, showing us the bite mark, He backed away unsure of what to do now, we had a person infected but alive.

I turn to the two men I was with and Asked a question I should ve asked when I saw them "were you two bit or scratched at all?" Speed shook his head no "I was in the RV at the time of the attack" I turned to Sniper who didn t meet my eyes "oh sniper please tell me you didn t get-" He took off his jacket showing a bloody bandage on his shoulder. I covered my mouth in horror, Speed backed away dragging me away as well. I struggled "No! NO! its not true, He s the same". The group didn t notice us, they were busy talking about what to do with Jim, they didn t see my meltdown. We looked at Sniper who looked back at us, mainly me, his eyes showing sadness, he was silently asking something, and I knew what it was. I took a deep breath and told Speed to let go of me, he did reluctantly and I walked over toward Sniper stopping right in front of him. I let a few tears fall as I stared at my friend, whom I have know for over 9 years. I threw my arm around his waist, and he wrapped his arms around me kissing the top of my head. We talked about what would happen if one of us was bitten. We knew the rules and requests. "I don t know if I can do It Aiden, Please don t ask me to" I whispered pathetically He looked at me sadly, understanding my pain "I know Erika, Im asking a lot but I d rather it be by your hands, please Let Me die a man, not as a monster" I sighed and nodded kissed his cheek and backed up. Speed walked foreword and embraced sniper, through my tears I chuckled "I knew you two had a thing for each other" trying to lighten up the mood, it worked as they stepped back from each other laughing. Then Speed looked at Sniper "Man you were always my best friend, you save my ass countless of times I m sorry I could help you bro, I ll always remember you" Sniper nodded "thanks man that means a lot to me even though you re a pain in the ass" I walked away and let them have a moment and walked over to the group, When I got closer I heard Daryl speak up "I say We put a pickaxe in His head and the dead girl s and be done with it" Shane looked at it "is that what you would want? If it were you?" Daryl nodded "yeah I d thank you while you were doing it" Dale turned around and said Daryl might be right, Rick tried to tell them that He s just sick, Mentioning the CDC and arguing with Shane. Daryl stood annoyed "You go look for Aspirin do what you need to do, somebody needs to have the balls to take care of this damn problem" as he went to hit jim with the pickaxe, Rick quickly pointed a gun at his head. "we do not kill the living" I turned and walked away one thought crossing my mind_ 'but what if they want to die?'._

I walked back over to Aiden and Seth, I looked Aiden straight in the eyes "is this what you want Aiden?, The group is heading to the CDC we might be able to find a cure" He shook his head "I m sure Erika, we made a promise before the outbreak happened, This is what I want please don t deny me my last request, I might not be able to make the trip" He begged in his eyes I saw he accepted his faith, he didn t want any false reassurance, I nodded pulling out my handgun. "If this is your wish then I will grant it, Aiden Rain you are an amazing soldier, your devotion would have gotten you very far in life, You protected us and our squad to the best of your ability which was more then anyone has asked for, you are considered a hero and a savior to many and will forever be remembered as one, you fought with great bravery till the very end, I have always respected you as a soldier as a person and as a friend, remember we Love you Aiden and it was an honor to have had you in my squad, You will always be in my heart my friend, I m proud of you" He smiled a lone tear falling from his eye. "thank You Erika for everything, It was an honor working under your command, dont let my death be in vain" he nodded to Seth who was silently crying, Seth nodded back. Aiden looked at me "ok I m ready" I nodded Pointing my gun at his head "Goodbye" He smiled and I pulled the trigger. He dropped to the ground dead. I put the gun away crying silently. Then Rick and the others ran over "what happened?" he asked looking at us, I shook my head not taking my eyes off Aiden s body. "what the hell did you do Erika?" Shane yelled going over to Aiden s body. I started walking away, When Rick caught up to me

Rick stood right in front on me, I looked up at him. "Erika, why did you kill him?" I looked away from him and towards Aiden s fallen body, Let it go Rick your crossing a line...a very dangerous line "he was bitten, Rick, I had to do what I needed to" He looked at me like I had six heads "Maybe we could have saved him, why they hell would you kill a living person? Answer me Erika!" I turned to him, my glare cold as Ice. I walked towards Him "and what if he wanted to die? Huh Rick? Look I appreciate you letting us stay and I appreciate your hospitality but me, Seth and Aiden made a promise to each other when this whole zombie apocalypse shit happened, This was His request Rick, I was not going to let that be his fate" I pointed to Amy and Andrea. He turned to me still not understanding "I let Him die with honor Rick, don t try to taint that reason by saying it was wrong" I said walking back over to Aiden. I motioned for Seth to come over and help me pick up Aiden s body to bury him. after we wrapped him and layed him in the ground I Looked at Aiden s covered body _'yes I put down a person today, Yes that person soldier, yes that soldier was one of my best friends, But I kept a promise that we made .I was able to keep a promise and fulfill a last request& is that such a bad thing?'._


	5. Chapter 5

Morning came to quickly, My second day of no sleep _'God I must look worse then a walker'_ . I quickly changed into my spare black jeans a black tank top and my black vans and walked out of my tent, noticing I was the first one up. I looked back into the tent and saw Seth asleep, I didn't want to be alone, not after what happened to Aiden, I kept seeing His lifeless body every time I closed my eyes. Seth and I didn't do anything of course we just needed each other for comfort. He stayed up most of the night silently crying until he fell asleep, crying for Aiden, of course I wouldn't tell anyone about it. I sighed and went to Aiden's Grave, When I got there I saw his helmet and Dog-tags placed there, marking where my friend laid. I fell to my knees, tears fell down my face as I stared, Emotions Rushed through me, **Despair**, we lost many people and we have no idea if the CDC will be of help to us. **Anger**, I was supposed to protect them and I couldn't, I failed my team because I was to damn weak. **Remorse**, If I stayed Aiden would be right next to me. **Shame**, I put down my friend and now everyone is afraid of me, they will not be able to trust me, I will never get them to understand. **Guilt**, Aiden is gone because of me. **Fear**, What if the group kicks me out?, What if Seth blames me too, What if Daryl hates me?. That last emotion and thought made me freeze '_why would I care what Daryl thinks? Why would I care If he hates me? Do I like him?'_ I thought to myself staring as the sun rises.

I heard footsteps and saw Rick, He was a mess and probably didn't sleep well either. I saw him look at me and I looked away, I saw how the others looked at me Fear, anger, disgust I didn't need to see it from him to. Him, Seth and Daryl I couldn't stand it if they looked at me like that. Rick Reminded me of my older brother, Seth was my best friend, and Daryl I felt I had a connection with him like he would understand me the most beside Seth. "hey" he said softly, I frowned at how cautious he sounded, scoffing mentally _'Probably afraid I'm going to aim the pistol at his head next'_ I thought bitterly. "you think I'm a monster, because I shot my best friend" I said not bothering to beat around the bush. I heard him shift uncomfortably probably surprised, I refused to look at him. "I never said that Erika- " I cut him off "but you were thinking it Rick, yesterday everyone was looking at me with fear, Shane with anger and Disgust as if I wasn t even human, and you...you wouldn't even look at me Rick". I turned to him my gaze cold and sharp as my tone. "As you said Rick I have done so much for you guys already, I was ready to go back for Merle even though he and I don't 'play nice' , I was ready to take an arrow in the face for T-Dog, I Ran to help Daryl even though I was injured, I refused to leave and stayed to rescue Glenn. I even gave you some of my weapons to do so and for what? For the group to eventually turn their back on me too?, so tell me Rick Have I not earned my keep, Have I not proven my loyalty and trust?" He looked at me after running a hand through his hair in embarrassment "you have" I stared at him "then why are they afraid the next time I draw my gun it will be at them? I watch out for others if they watch my back and in order to survive we need to rely on trust!" I said raising my voice at the end "I'm sorry you feel that way Erika, I promise you I will talk to them". I looked into his eyes and saw He was telling the truth. I sighed, my head now throbbing from the cut, lack of sleep and I m sure the aggravation doesn't help. I nodded and turned to walk back to camp, I looked back for a second "Just to let you know Rick, It's not your fault, I Don't blame you at all" he looked at me for a moment then nodded. "thank you Erika I'm sorry" I waved it off "there's nothing to forgive" He smiled and I returned it.

As I walked back to camp I saw everyone was still asleep, well except for Daryl who was cleaning his arrows. '_crap just my luck'_ I kept walking pretending he wasn't there, sat down and stared at the lake just thinking to myself. Then I heard footsteps behind me, I didn't turn around, I couldn't face the man the footsteps belonged to. "the hell is wrong with you?, stop your moping round, we don t need a girl fucking crying all the damn time, He's dead get over it" Daryl grunted, I turned to him shocked then I realized I was silently crying, I quickly wiped my eyes "excuse me? If you haven't notice the group doesn't trust me, And your saying get over it?" He scoffed "who the hell cares if they trust you or not, as long as your not useless they wont leave your sorry ass behind" I stared at him unable to read his expression. ""and what about you Daryl? Do you care? Are you afraid you'll be the next one I shoot?" He rolled his eyes crossing his arms in a tough guy pose purposely avoiding the caring question "I ain't afraid of nothing especially not you, couldn't kill me even if ya tried" I stood up my anger rising "That's the thanks I get for helping your ass in the alley? I should've let them kick the crap out of you" He scoffed "I didn't need your help, I could've handled it fine by my self" I walked closer to him, sadly I was a few inches shorter then him so it wasn't very intimidating but I didn't back down "You are such an asshole, I cant believe I even considered you as a friend" He smirked loving the fact that he was pissing me off "well that was your mistake" I glared at him wanting to smack him and wipe that smirk off his handsome face, _'God I cant believe I actually like the jerk...Wait what the hell am I saying?'_ "You know what Daryl, why don t you take your arrow and shove it up your ass" I said storming past him. Walking into the Tent, I saw Seth awake and fully dressed.

I flopped down on the floor and let out a frustrated sigh. "stupid jerk" I mumbled, Seth chuckled "Daryl piss you off?" I nodded frowning at the ceiling "Don t let him get to you, Erika I think its his way of showing he cares" Seth said smirked, I snorted "right, and what do you know?" His smirk was still on his face "I know you got the hots for him" I felt my face heat up "your imagining things, the heat must've gone to what's left of your brain" He laughed softly pointing at my face "right the same heat that made your face all red?" I rolled my eyes at his childish behavior. "Whatever I do not like him" Seth didn't believe me, Heck I didn't even believe me. "Liar! Admit it you like him!" I glared at him "Do not" He smirked "Do To" this continued for about 10 minuets "ALRIGHT! Fine I admit it I do like him" I grumbled not happy bout the confession "HA I KNEW IT!" Seth gloated I rolled my eyes again. I didn't ruin his happiness though "yeah yeah yeah, lets go everyone should be waking up now" He nodded and helped me up then we exited the tent. I saw that everyone was looking at me guiltily, well Daryl looked at me then looked away. _'Rick must've talked to them'_. I walked over not speaking to anyone and packed my stuff together, Morales mentioned that he and his family were leaving. Rick and Shane gave them a gun and a box of ammo, which caused Daryl to stop biting his nails and scoff. We said our goodbyes, they apologized and everything, I just nodded my head. We all decided to take off towards the CDC, Seth and I visited Aiden's grave one last time and then followed. Seth drove the army jeep while I rode my motorcycle, I Loved the feeling of riding It felt like you were free like you had no care in the world. I couldn't help but have a little fun, I sped up passing Seth, Amy and T-Dog. I drove up next to Daryl's truck, causing him to smirk when he saw me. I Did a wheelie and then sped off, laughing as I saw Daryl chuckle and Seth laugh. I Slowed down to a stop when I saw the RV over heat. _'uh just great!'_ I got off my motorcycle taking of my helmet walking over to the van. "I said I needed the one from your cube van" Dale said, Rick adjusted his hat, "can you jury-rig it?" Dale looked at the van then back to Rick "That all its been its more duct tape than hose... and I m all out of duct tape" I sighed in frustration, Shane saw something up ahead said it might be a gas station. Then Jacqui came out saying that Jim couldn't take much more of the trip and Rick went in to check on him, I frowned _'poor Jim, what are we going to do?'_ after a few minutes Rick came back out, I would be lying if I said the expression on his face didn't worry me. "Jim wants us to leave him here, It s what he said he wants" Carol couldn't believe what he was saying "and He's Lucid?" I rubbed my eyes and sighed taking out my knife I started flipping it. Seth frowned at me He knew about my habit, sometimes it was out of fun, sometimes it was out of boredom but moments like this, it was out of nervousness. He knew I felt helpless, and knew it aggravated me. He put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly I looked at him and gave him a small forced smile, and I didn't notice someone frowning at the small friendly gesture.

I heard Rick and Shane carry Jim out of the RV and placed him under a tree. I was still flipping my knife, I didn't want to look at how messed up Jim was, It made me keep thinking that could've been Aiden. Then I noticed something, I didn't have my knife anymore, I looked up and saw Daryl holding my hunting knife, He must've caught it when I wasn't paying attention. We just stared at each other not saying a word, all of a sudden he handed me the knife back, no sarcastic remark no insult nothing. I blinked taking the knife and sheathing it. He then turned and walked towards the others silently telling me to follow, which I did. As We all gathered saying goodbye I was behind Daryl who looked at Jim and nodded his head. It was my turn now as I looked at him with sympathy "I don t know what to say" I muttered Jim chuckled then groaned in pain. "Well Goodbye would be a start...usually the weather is a great pick up line" He said weakly, I smiled at his attempt to joke "Goodbye Jim I'm sorry This happened to you" Jim shook his head "Dont be you cant change what has happened, at least Aiden didn't have to go through this, or end up Like my family" I looked at the ground feeling guilty when I thought of Aiden "It isn't your fault, You had to do what had to be done, He didn't die in pain Erika, you re a smart person So are you smart enough to know it wasn't your fault?" he asked sweat dripping from his face. I bit my lip, thinking about his question then nodded my head, He was right. Smiling at him I kissed His cheek, frowning on the inside at how Hot he felt "thank you Jim, your right I need to let go of the guilt" He nodded and smirked "you better go, Daryl is waiting for you, It wouldn't be wise to let your love interest wait, not one that s short tempered like him" I blushed frowning at him, I turned toward the RV and sure enough Daryl was watching me with his arms crossed and of course frowning. I turned back toward Jim "is it really that noticeable that I like him?" I muttered still blushing Jim laughed obviously hearing me "No don t worry, your secrets safe...I'll take it to my grave" I frowned at the last ironic statement then smiled "thanks Jim for everything...goodbye" He smiled nodded, I turned around and walked toward the RV. I walked past Daryl who was staring at me lost in thought. I waved my hand in front of his face, grabbing his attention, "common Lets go" I smiled walking off not giving him time to respond. I started to walk back towards the group when Everything started to spin and my head started to pound. I closed my eyes as I started getting light headed. "Erika you ok?" I heard someone say, I couldn't tell who it was, Their voice was all distorted. I opened my eyes and Saw a blurred version of Dale, I quickly closed my eyes feeling like I was going to throw up from being so dizzy. I saw the group turn their attention toward me as I tried say I was Fine but as I open my mouth I started to fall Back. I heard Seth shout "ERIKA" The last thing I felt before I blacked out was two arms catch me right before I hit the ground.

I Opened my eyes and noticed I was in the RV. I sat up slowly causing a cold wash cloth fall from my forehead. My headache was gone for the moment and I no longer felt nauseas, _'Thank God'_ I turned toward the hallway when I hear footsteps, I Saw Rick, looking concerned yet relieved. "your awake...that s good" He said I nodded then slowly asked "what happened?" Rick sat on the chair next to the bed he wiped his face "you fainted...been out a good 10 min... you uh got a minor concussion" I winced when he said that _'shit now the groups gonna ditch me for being weak'_ I took a deep breath "how did I get in here?" Rick looked away then looked back when "You fell back, Daryl caught you seeing how he was closest, T-Dog told us this happened before... why didn't you tell us" I looked out the window seeing that we were in the same place. _'Probably waiting for Shane and T-Dog to get back'_ "I don t like being the weak link Rick, and as far as telling you when we got back to camp The group still doesn't fully trust me, no matter what you said to them, I don t need to give them a reason to ditch me" Rick frowned and sighed "no one is going to ditch you Erika, you as important to this group as anyone else, They will trust you Erika they just need time, they were actually worried bout you even Daryl kept looking over at the RV" I pondered over what he said for a moment then something clicked "wait DARYL carried me in here and didn't drop me?" I asked wide eyed causing Rick to laugh "yeah we were shocked as well, Seth wanted to carry you, but Daryl ignored him and walked right past him carrying you into the RV" I looked out the window at Daryl who was sitting on a stump cleaning his arrows again. I shook my head to get rid of the blush that was rising to my cheeks _'What about not considering me a friend? Why the sudden change in heart'_ I turned to Rick when he started speaking again "Shane and T-Dog went to look for a hose they should be back soon" I nodded and went to get out of bed wincing at the pain in my back. Rick tried to make me sit back down saying I needed rest. "No Rick, whether you like it or not I m getting up" I said standing up, my voice was stern. He sighed and wiped his face knowing there was no arguing with me. "fine but if something happens your ass is right back in here" I smiled and patted his head like a dog "Good boy, you get a cookie" He frowned but then chuckled and I turned and walked out of the RV. Daryl looked at me and frowned but didn't say anything. Then I heard footsteps behind me "What the fuck are you doing out of bed?" I winced, knowing who the voice belonged to and turned around facing a not to pleased Seth. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair "I'm Fine Speed let it go" he stood firm arms crossed over his chest glaring at me. "No, I'm not letting it go you fainted...that's not fine" I looked at him crossing my arms challengingly "I Said let it go" He frowned jaw clenched his anger clearly rising, things were going to get ugly real quick.

"No... your hurt you need to rest...don t be such a fucking idiot" he growled walking toward me, stopping directly in front of me, I glared at him "I do not need rest, so get that through your thick skull.. ..I told you I'm not a weak little girl, So Stop treating me like one. That is an order, Remember who is in charge soldier" He scoffed "OH COME OFF IT ERIKA...If you haven t noticed THE WORLD ENDED AND WENT TO SHIT!...there are no more ranks, there is no more army, no more platoon, no more Aiden. there is only us and survival so don t give me this crap about who is in charge, Aiden Is gone Because YOU ORDERED US TO STAY AD PROTECT THEM...ITS YOUR FUCKING ORDERS THAT GOT AIDEN BIT...YOUR ORDERS FUCKING KILLED HIM!" My eyes widened and I took a step back from him. He blamed me, I knew the others probably did but I never thought Seth would. He obviously regretted it as soon as the words left his lips because he went wide eyed "Erika I-I didn't mean-" I felt tears threatened to fall and I turned and walked away not bothering to give him time to explain. I saw the whole group watching us, including Shane and T-Dog who must've just gotten here, But I didn't look at any of them... I just walked right past. I stopped when I reached my motorcycle and looked through the pouch on my bike I grabbed a bottle of pain pills for my head and back.

Popping those in my mouth I sighed sitting on the ground and started flipping my knife again. I Refused to cry and tried to take deep breaths to calm myself. I looked up when I heard someone walk over and stared blankly at Daryl. I put away the knife and stood up "thanks for carrying me into the RV. I promise you will never have to do it again". I said my tone flat, He frowned and glared at me "stop it" He spat I looked at him confused "stop what?" His glare hardened at my question. "Stop this shit bout feeling sorry for yer self, ain't gonna change a damn thing" I stared at him confused "what do you expect me to do Daryl? Why do you even care?" he just watched me then looked over at the group then back at me. "its non of my business... hell I don t know why I even care but you lost one person already... ya really want to lose another? If anything you had the guts to do what these dumb asses couldn't" I was shocked as I thought of what he just asked "No I don t, but I'm not ready to face him yet, I need some time" Daryl didn't say anything at first then nodded his head and turned to walk away, I quickly went to stop him "Daryl!" he stopped and turned around. "Thank you... for everything" he looked at his feet then back up, obviously uncomfortable. I smirked, I ve been around here long enough to know when this man got uncomfortable he lashed out. I was right when he glared at me shifting his crossbow "I didn t do nothing, just don t need a whiny brat complaining bout shit that don t even matter, don t need to babysit get yer shit together or leave" I rolled my eyes and smiled "sure Daryl, whatever you say" he scoffed and walked away. I smirked as I heard him grumble to himself, something about 'stupid women' and 'rather been shooting zombies' laughing I turned facing my motorcycle putting on my helmet when I saw we were getting ready to leave and mounted my bike. I took a deep breath, the one good thing about joining the army was it hardened you, teaching you when to be hard as stone, to become unfeeling so no one could read you, and that exactly what I did. I revved my bike once before taking off, following the RV towards the CDC, hoping for a miracle.


End file.
